Stacking of capacitive cells for electrical energy production by salinity exchange

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

卷:318

Article

Iglesias, Guillermo R.¹  Ahualli, Silvia¹  Fernandez, Maria M.¹  Jimenez, Maria L.¹  Delgado, Angel V.¹ 

[1] Univ Granada, Sch Sci, Dept Appl Phys, Avda Fuentenueva S-N, E-18071 Granada, Spain

关键词: Activated carbon particles;    Capacitive energy extraction;    Double layer expansion;    Supercapacitors;    Soft electrodes;    Series capmix association;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.04.026

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

In this paper we explore methods for stacking individual cells in order to increase the amount of energy that can be extracted from salinity gradient cycles (capmix methods). Each of the cells consists of a pair of parallel electrodes made of activated carbon particles, either bare or coated by a layer of polyelectrolyte. In these methods, energy is produced based on the modifications of the electrical double layer (EDL) structure in the pores of the carbon particles upon exchange of the salinity of the surrounding medium. In the case of the bare carbon particles, the electrodes are externally charged in presence of high-salt concentration, and discharged after exchanging the solution for a dilute one (sea-vs. river-water cycles). In a first stacking approach, we simply connect the electrodes side-by-side and only the outermost ones can be connected to the external source. Using a stack where potential and current between cells can be measured, it is shown that only the external electrodes seem to work, and it is suggested that this is a consequence of internal short-circuit currents between oppositely charged electrodes of different cells through the electrolyte. In contrast, the side-by-side configuration is operational if coated electrodes are used. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free